Residency Applications at a glance

	Full resident status			Resident tuition only
	Residency Affidavit	Traditional Residency Questionnaire		Military	American Indian	Freely Associated States
		Dependent	Independent
More Information	Residency Affidavit information	Financially Dependent information	Financially Independent information	Military Residency information	American Indian Residency information	Freely Associated States information
Student lives in WA	Student must live in WA 12 months before attending any WA college more than 6 credits each term.	N/A	Student must live in WA 12 months prior to the term	Varies	Must live in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, or Montana.	N/A
Parent, Step-parent, or legal guardian lives in WA	N/A	A parent/step-parent/legal guardian must live in WA 12 months prior to the term.	N/A	Varies	N/A	N/A
Waiting Period	12 months after student moves to Washington	12 months after parent/step-parent/legal guardian moves to Washington	12 months after student moves to Washington	N/A	N/A	N/A
Establish Domicile	Document living in Washington	The parent/step-parent/legal guardian must obtain Washington documents within a few months of moving to Washington.	The student must obtain Washington documents at least 11 months prior to the term	N/A	N/A	N/A
Presumption+	Students taking more than 6 credits per term during the waiting period are not eligible	N/A	Must overcome presumption+	N/A	N/A	N/A
WUE/Cougar Award	N/A	N/A	Financially independent students may not use the time receiving the Cougar Award towards the 12 month waiting period.+	N/A	N/A	N/A
Immigration status	N/A	Student and parent must have an eligible immigration status	Must have an eligible immigration status	N/A	N/A	Student must be a citizen of one of three Freely Associated States: Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), Republic of Palau
Financial independence	N/A	Student must be financially dependent*	Student must be financially independent*	N/A	N/A	N/A
American Indian tribal membership	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Must be a member of a federally recognized tribe whose customary and tribal boundaries include portions of Washington	N/A
Military affiliation	N/A	N/A	N/A	Students eligible for VA Educational benefits are eligible. Other military-affiliated students may also be eligible.	N/A	N/A
Time Requirement to complete application	Less than 5 minutes	30 minutes if documentation is prepared in advance	60 minutes if documentation is prepared in advance	Less than 5 minutes once documentation from the VA is obtained	Less than 5 minutes	Less than 5 minutes
Type of documentation required	Documentation is not needed in many instances. Student may need to provide proof of living in WA which may include housing, state ID, transcripts, etc.	Parent proof of domicile including housing, state identification, vehicle registration, etc. See Dependent Checklist	Student proof of domicile including housing, state identification, vehicle registration, etc. Parent tax return required in most instances. See Independent Checklist	Varies. Certificate of Eligibility, military orders, etc. Most students need to apply for a Certificate of Eligibility from the VA before completing this application.	Tribal membership card	Citizenship documentation
*Financial status: Financially dependent students are claimed on someone else's taxes and receive more than half of their support from someone else. See the financially independent page for more information on the requirements to be considered financially independent for residency purposes.
+Financially Independent Students and Presumption: Financially independent students establishing residency after starting college must overcome the presumption that they have moved to the state for higher education purposes. Students receiving the WUE are considered to be in the state for educational purposes and may not use the time that they are receiving the WUE towards the 12 month waiting period. This does not impact students who are financially dependent.